Leeds United were beaten for the first time since October 25 as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Jobe Bellingham provided the decisive moment as he bundled home from close range after Alex Pritchard's clever header caught out the Whites' defence.
Pascal Struijk cleared the ball but Pritchard reacted smartly to head back towards goal and Bellingham beat Illan Meslier to the ball to bundle home with 78 minutes gone. The Frenchman had earlier produced a stunning save in the first half to keep the Black Cats at bay.
Leeds enjoyed more of the ball and had chances off their own with Joel Piroe seeing a shot cleared off the line by Trai Hume with just minutes of normal time remaining. Leeds had won six of their last seven games coming into the fixture but lost ground on Ipswich Town, who moved top of the table after they came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Watford.
Here are the player ratings from this evening's fixture.
1. Illan Meslier - 7/10
One sublime first half save, one big stop in the second half. Got unlucky for the goal, Prichard's header caught him and everyone out.
2. Archie Gray - 6/10
Found it difficult against Clarke and was in danger of going under when he took the yellow, but he did well defensively after that. Couldn't contribute much going forward.
3. Joe Rodon - 7/10
Solid for the vast majority of the game, read things well and put himself in the right place. Like Meslier got caught out by Pritchard's header.
4. Pascal Struijk - 6/10
A similar story to Rodon. Plenty of good stuff, but his headed clearance prior to the goal was into a dangerous area.
5. Djed Spence - 6/10
A few examples of his dribbling ability, but some wayward passing and moments where he was careless.
6. Ethan Ampadu - 5/10
A bit too much in the way of inaccuracy on the ball, which didn't allow Leeds to play with the speed and precision they needed.